12/21/12 12/21/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> there is this long standing relationship, should give us pause about the people we support today because we don't know what sort of consequences we may be engineering tomorrow. >> we speak with matthieu aikins who is just returned from two months in pakistan, examining what led to the capture and killing of osama bin laden. his piece is called, "the doctor, the cia, and the blood of bin laden." that is the african national congress in south africa votes to support a boycott divestment and sanctions, we look at a new

film "road map to apartheid." >> i have been able to visit israel and palestine on more than two occasions. and what i experienced there was such a cruel reminder of a at a painful to protest south africa. we were largely controlled in the same way. >> we will speak with the israeli and south african born co-director of the film, then reverend billy on the end of the world. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. people across the united states are expected to join a moment of silence at 9:30 this morning to mark one week since the massacre at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut.

last friday morning, adam lanza opened fire at the school, killing 20 children and six adults. a series of back-to-back wakes and funerals are continuing for the victims. those mourned on thursday include catherine hubbard, benjamin wheeler, jesse lewis, and allison wyatt, all aged six, and grace mcdonnell, age 7. the service was held in new york for teacher anne marie murphy, who is believed to have used her body to shield students from a hill of bullets. 30-year old teacher lauren rousseau was also mourned thursday in connecticut. her partner of the year, tony lusardi, spoke to cnn. >> i want the world to know she was a great person who touched the lives of everyone she ever met, even if he only met her once you like her. she was a great person and did not deserve this. no one deserved this. >> a private memorial service

was also held thursday in new hampshire for nancy lanza, the mother of the gunman and his first victim. adam lanza shot his mother in her bed with her own gun before driving to the elementary school. vice-president joe biden met thursday with cabinet members and law-enforcement officials from around the country as part of the obama administration's push for tighter gun control in the wake of the sandy hook massacre. speaking to reporters before the meeting, biden affirmed the president's commitment to reform. >> the president is absolutely committed to keeping his promise that we will act and act in a way that is designed, even if he says we can only say one line -- save one life, we have to take action. >> the national rifle association is expected to break its silence following the killings today with a news conference by ceo. the pro-gun group issued a statement earlier this week promising "meaningful contributions to help make sure

this never happens again." the nra's facebook page went dark and activity was suspended on its twitter account last friday following the shooting. amidst the growing national conversation on gun control and mental illness, an analysis has found millions of and to help records remain missing from the national database used by gun dealers to run background checks on buyers the group mayors against illegal guns found 19 states have provided fewer than 100 mental-health records each to the database. house speaker john boehner has failed to gather enough support from his own party to pass the purported plan be aimed at forcing concessions from president obama over the so- called fiscal cliff. his plan would have extended bush-era tax cuts for virtually everyone, except those earning $1 million a year or more. that's far higher than the $250,000 income threshold long sought by president obama. obama floated a compromise at

$40,000 earlier this week and has also offered to cut revenue target, and allow curbs on social called -- so-called entitlements like social security. dennis kucinich blasted a potential compromise measure called a chain to cpi. >> sanders' inevitably turn to cheaper alternatives. if they like state but can afford it, they turn to something cheaper, like cat food. the less you pay for food, the less benefits you get. the chain cpi benefit cut will change aging seniors to a party of choices, a lower standard of living with cheaper products. the chained cpi formula does not take into account seniors rising health-care costs. there is no justification to cut security benefits. no to throwing seniors off the fiscal cliff. no to a cat food christmas.

>> police in egypt have fired tear gas canisters today in alexandria as supporters and opponents of president mohammed morsi clashed a day before the final stage of voting on a controversial draft constitution. the two sides hurled stones at each other during a rally called by islamists who support the constitution. morsi's opponents have called for voting against the document. at least eight people died in clashes leading up to the first day of voting on december 15 when a 57% majority backed the constitution amid numerous complaints of violations at the polls. outcry is continuing in india over the gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus. the woman was hospitalized and remains in critical condition after the attack sunday night. on wednesday, police used water cannons against protesters who condemned the violence. police icarus six men raped the woman and beat both her and a male friend with iron rods as

they drove through the city, reportedly passing through several police checkpoints. both victims were stripped and dumped by the son of the road. police say five men have been arrested. in the moments rights activist ranjana kumari said rapists in india often escape punishment. >> under the current laws, rapists are not being prosecuted the way they should be. i missed 40,000 rape cases are pending in various courts across the country. in 2003, there was a judgment nine years later. it takes nine years for justice to be delivered, to think people will be afraid to commit such heinous crimes? it is imported have a system in place to deal with such cases. we demand to expedite the crime in courts. >> and it's the mounting protest, officials in india have reported at least two more gang rapes. and two separate incidents, a 10-year old crow was gang raped

and murdered and a 14-year-old was in critical condition after being raped by a group of men. according to the national crime records bureau, one woman is raped every 20 minutes in india. a new case of mass rape has been reported in the democratic republic of congo. the u.n. mission for the drc says that 126 women were raped in eastern congo last month after the congolese troops fled there to escape rebels advancing on the provincial capital. meanwhile, rate continues to be a major issue for the u.s. military. the number of sexual assaults reported at military academies has increased by nearly 25% this year amid signs many victims are remaining silent. a military report says the number of assaults at the country's three military academies jumped from 65 last year to 80 in 2012. but nearly half those attacks involved victims who sought confidential resources such as medical care and did not prompt an investigation.

more than half of women at u.s. military academies have been sexually harassed while 12% say they experienced unwanted sexual contact according to an anonymous military survey. a new report says four israeli attacks launched on journalists and media facilities are in the bombardment of gaza last month violated the laws of war by targeting civilians and civilian objects. human rights watch issued the findings thursday on the attacks that killed two palestinian camera people, wounded at least 10 media workers, and damaged four media offices. one strike also killed a 2-year- old boy who lived across from a targeted building. wikileaks founder julian assange made are rare public appearance thursday, six months after seeking refuge in the ecuador embassy in london in a bid to avoid extradition to sweden and ultimately, he says, to the united states. speaking from the embassy balcony, he condemned what it called in the morell investigation against him by the

u.s. and said wikileaks is preparing to release more than 1 million documents that will affect "every country in this world." >> it is from the revelation of truth that all else follows. our buildings can only be as tall as their bricks are strong. our civilization is only as strong as its ideas are true. my work will not be cowed. but why this -- while this investigation continues and the australian government will not defend the journalism of punishment of wikileaks, i must remain here. however, the door is open and the door has always been open for anyone who wishes to speak to me. like you, i have not been charged with a crime. >> in colorado, a group representing major oil and gas companies has filed a lawsuit against the city of longmont's's

ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. longmont residents made theirs the person in colorado to ban fracking last month in an overwhelming vote. but the colorado oil and gas association is seeking to challenge the ban in court, saying voters have no right to impose it. speaking to the new york times, the longmont fracking opponent called a lawsuit and never to " undermine a democratic vote in order to put a dangerous industrial activity next to homes, schools, and public parks." the aids activist spencer cox has died of aids-related causes at the age of 44. he was a spokesperson for act up, to unleash power. an early advocate for aids treatment. cox was featured in the documentary "how to survive a plague" about the early days of aids activism in the u.s. film director david france posted a clip from his final interview with spencer cox after his death this week. >> i don't know what is going to happen.

i don't know what is one happened today or next year. i just know you keep going. you keep progressing, you keep hoping. until you die. which is would happen someday. you make your life as meaningful as you can make it. you lived it. don't be afraid of who is going to like you or are you be inappropriate or are you being -- you worry about things like being kind. >> and those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today's show with a look at the capture of osama bin laden, which is the focus of the controversial new movie, "zero dark thirty," which was released this week. billed as the story of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man, the film has come under harsh criticism from republican senator john mccain for its depiction of torture.

mccain, a former pow who was tortured for years at the hands of vietnamese captors, joined democratic senators dianne feinstein and carl levin in writing a letter to the chief executive of sony pictures, which backed the film. and they said -- as you know, the film graphically depicts cia officers to the letter goes on to say -- >> meanwhile, pakistan continues to face the fallout from the raid that led to the capture and killing of bin laden in may

2011. eight help workers have been killed this week during a nationwide anti polio drive, as opposition to such immunization efforts in parts of the country has increased after the fake cia hepatitis vaccination campaign that helped locate bin laden last year. pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic. pakistani clerics said medical workers should not pay the price for those who collaborated with the cia. >> would never dr. shakil afridi he did does not mean you can kill innocent people to avenge him rid of you thin. >> for more, we're joined by matthieu aikins which just returned from two months in pakistan or he examined what led to the capture and killing of osama bin laden. matthieu aikins is a journalist

based in kabul, written for harpers, gq, and the atlantic and is most recent piece is called, "the doctor, the cia, and the blood of bin laden." before we talk about your piece, let's talk about something that relates to it. pakistan continuing to face the fallout of the raid with eight health workers being killed this week during a nationwide anti- polio drive. explain what is going on and how it relates to your research. >> the background for this is as part of the eight campaign define bin laden, the cia employe this doctor, dr. shakil afridi, to conduct a fake vaccination campaign in the pakistani town where they believed bin laden was hidden. and they wanted to do that in order to get some of his dna. when that came out, a cast a great deal of suspicion on anyone who is conducting medical programs for humanitarian

programs in the tribal areas on the borders of afghanistan, particularly anyone who was associated with the western ngo or taking money from western programs. essentially, that is the background read the first responsibility for killing these aid workers in light of the people who did it, but there's a lot of criticism in pakistan of the cia using humanitarian workers as a front for an assassination mission. obviously, does tremendous damage and puts the lives of these workers in jeopardy. >> earlier this year, pakistan authorities ordered save the children's international workers to leave the country over suspicions a doctor used the aid agency as a cover for a cia operation. a pakistani report linked the organization to the pakistani dr., dr. shakil afridi, allegedly was recruited by the cia to help track down osama bin laden. save the children spokeswoman told al jazeera's "inside

story," the organization had a civic and ties to the doctor. >> we absolutely deny any of those allegations dr. shakil afridi never worked for us. he was never employed by us. we did not run a vaccination program in abbottabad. any allegations of links between us and the doctor in this respect are absolutely untrue. one thing to be clear, he did attend a couple of our training programs a few years ago. he was a local health official. we ran regular health training programs across pakistan. tens of thousands of pakistan's have attended those. he did attend one of those two programs, but that is absolutely the only connection we confined between dr. shakil afridi and save the children read it we deny those allegations that are circulating in the media. we're trying hard to speak to the pakistani government and to try and get or understand a little bit better how we can

overcome this problem. because we have been in pakistan for 30 years. we have worked really well and very closely with the pakistan government, both on the national level and local authorities. we helped many, many people across the country. the poorest children and families in pakistan. >> there is also doctors without borders has sharply condemned the use of health officials by the cia, but u.s. government to try to elicit information. your article seems to suggest in pakistan there's a great fear that this is widespread throughout the country, the attempt to develop networks of information by the cia with local officials. >> the story fundamental it is about pakistani asset source paid by the cia and what happened to him after the mission was over. he was thrown in jail, made an example out of by the pakistan military. >> this is dr. shakil afridi?

>> yes. he may have helped get the dna of the laden's daughter. it is not clear actually whether he did. the raymond davis case for a cia contractor was caught after killing two men, unclear altercation, has led to a very intense suspicion and even paranoia about four nor's or anyone connected. you can see the results of that in these aid workers were doing something that is desperately needed and incredibly impoverished area of the country that are being murdered. >> you went to track dr. shakil afridi, what he did leading up to osama bin laden's murder. explain the story as you understand it now. >> dr. shakil afridi was sort of a shady character. he was a bit of a hustler. he was living near the border between afghanistan and

pakistan where it was rife with drug smuggling and spy games and all sorts of shady dealings. he was kind of a player in that. at some point, the pakistani government alleges it was via save the children seminar, which that denied, he became an active with the cia and began visiting save houses, taking money to conduct the vaccination program in abbottabad. the interesting thing i found in looking at the story and trying to unwrap the multiple layers of propaganda and half truths is that despite the fact this incident has played out in front of the whole world, i mean, there are movies, books, in tons of news reports, there is still a lot we don't know. >> he went there with two nurses? rex he went with a team of nurses that went to the door of of some of the laden's house

with two nurses, knocked and tried to get in. >> what happened? >> what happened next is not clear. the nurses claim subsequently they never got into the house. i was able to find someone who had spoken to them earlier before the were arrested and said they did. they had been there earlier on a polio vaccination campaign a couple of years before and vaccinated the children. some of whom were osama bin laden's children and some were children of the two al qaeda couriers who were taking care of him in this house. the question is, we don't know is whether he brought back a blood sample from the daughter of osama bin laden, but the timing is very tantalizing because when that sample would have gotten back -- we know from the documents, reports and interviews that i conducted, we know by the time the results from a dna sample would have gotten back when he went there, that arrived -- on april 28

there is a meeting at the white house or president joe biden -- the review the evidence and joe biden said, there is not evidence there. obama himself with the chance of on the 28. the results of the samples would have arrived on the 29th. that is the morning the president obama made the order. >> and those samples were of who? >> he was doing a vaccination campaign for hepatitis for women between the age of 15 and 49. before you do that, you do a screen or use scratch and take a drop of blood to do a rapid test to see if they already have hepatitis. that was the trip, was to bring back those blood samples. it would've been trying to get one of the children of osama bin laden in the house so they could establish whether someone who's genetically related to him was there. >> dr. shakil afridi, shortly after the killing of osama bin

laden, was arrested and essentially disappear. you went back to track down his family members. you discovered it interesting history of the family in terms of other western powers in the region. >> absolutely. it was a good reminder of how long the history of western imperialism involvement in the frontier regions of afghanistan and pakistan has been. dr. shakil afridi's maternal grandfather won the victoria cross fighting for the british in the trenches during world war i. and the brother of his maternal grand uncle led the first recorded defection to german lines during world war i. yet is world famous hero and world famous trader in his past. cox and what happened to dr. shakil afridi afterwards?

in may, two top lawmakers warned pakistan over the sentencing of the doctor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for setting up the vaccination effort in an effort to get dna from the bin laden family. in a statement, senators john mccain and carl levin said of the imprisonment could -- state department's spokesperson victoria nuland was questioned on the obama administration's handling of the case. >> [indiscernible] how come you left him to die [indiscernible] of the pakistani is on treason? how come you did not give him some kind of protection to us like the chinese dissidents? give him safe haven rather than

leaving him behind? >> i think we have said that we don't see any basis for what has happened here, and so, you know, we will continue to make those representations to the government of pakistan. >> that was state department spokesperson victoria nuland. >> i think in any country in the world when a citizen of that country cooperates with the foreign intelligence agency to carry out an assassination on the country's soil, there's going to be legal consequences. now, the u.s. probably would like to buy dr. shakil afridi's freedom as a way to show other potential future sources they will back them up. i don't think they care sentimentally. we will see what happens next. it is politically sensitive on both sides. >> what was he actually convicted of? it was not of cooperating with

the cia, was it? >> no, this is a complicated story. they basically found a lot under the frontier regulations -- frontier crimes regulations, which is a british-area columbia law that basically -- the tribal areas of pakistan are still ruled by british-era law that provide no right of representation. you cannot be present at your own trial. there's no real appeal. so they found a way to try him under the circumstances does because it was a way to quietly deal with the case. obviously, it was -- trying him for helping the enemy of the state, the u.s., would bring up all sorts of uncomfortable questions about the relationship. >> i want to turn to noam chomsky for his comments. we spoke to him in may, the professor of linguistics at mit, where he taught for over half a

century. here is his comments. >> the assassination of osama bin laden, a small minority of people think that was a crime rate i don't think you should have the right to invade another country, apprehend a suspect. remember, suspect, even if you think he is guilty. after his defenseless, assassinate him and throw his body into the ocean. civilized countries don't do that sort of thing. the navy seals were under orders to fight their way out if there was a problem but if they had had to fight their way out, they would have had air cover and probably intervention. we could have been at war with pakistan. pakistan is a professional army, dedicated to protecting the sovereignty of the state and very dedicated to it. they would not take this lightly.

a war with pakistan would be an utter disaster. it is a huge nuclear facility laced with radical islamic elements. but they did it anyway. and right after it, when pakistan was totally outraged, carry on drone attacks in pakistan. it is kind of astonishing. >> professor noam chomsky, commenting on the assassination of osama bin laden. >> what is interesting about whole mission, that it was a unilateral mission, so it was done without pakistan's knowledge or consent, is that the obama administration felt it was unnecessary to the pakistani is from ed. there are legitimate concerns about pakistan's relationship about militant groups and have been operations in the past and gone after the taliban war seems like they've been tipped off

because there were sharing intelligence with the pakistanis. but almost all of the high- profile suspects, including khalid sheikh mohammed, were apprehended in joint operations. that is one thing the pakistanis bourke-white effective -- were quite effective. in pakistan, when i spoke with whether there were politicians in the military or civil society, there was a lot of bafflement about why the u.s. stance to go alone. i think it is sort of the arrogant and bullying approach the obama administration has taken to pakistan, getting tough. >> but want to ask about the film will refer to earlier, the new hollywood movie about the ca's hunt for osama bin laden, "zero dark thirty." in an unusual congressional critique of hollywood moviemaking, three u.s. senators on wednesday criticized the film. democratic senator dianne feinstein of california,

democratic senator carl levin of michigan, and republican senator john mccain of arizona said the film is "grossly inaccurate and misleading in its suggestion that torture resulted in information that led to the location of the terrorist leader." here's a clip from the trailer. >> we're still no closer to defeating our enemy. >> 20 detainee's recognize the photo. >> no birth certificate, no cellphone, the guy is a ghost. >> he is right in the inner circle. >> the whole world is going to want to know this. >> i want targets. >> where was the last time you saw bin laden? >> that is a clip from the "zero dark thirty." your sense of the impact of the film on the national debate over

the use of torture in these cases? >> it is how the film series "24" did more to justify torture to the ordinary american than any sort of evidence presented in "the dark side." i'm taking my cues to senators who had access to classified information. >> leon panetta just gave or wrote to senator mccain to say that unequivocally osama bin laden, the locating of osama bin laden was not based on confessions come through torture, yet that is how the film opens, with a nonstop interrogation, torture that clearly the film does not even question actually that is how information was gotten. >> there also portrayed torture as a straightforward mechanism

to extract information, when most of the psychological evidence shows people breaking an unreliable ways in the information you extract is often useless and very difficult to tell if it is genuine information are not. but i want to take a deeper more interesting thing at work. the filmmakers are close to the obama administration and are not try to push a particular agenda from the bush-air or anything like that, but there's this fascination on the part of american media and probably the american public, with this unlimited use of power. even the most despicable kinds of power than skillfully and precisely can lead to something for the greater good. of course, this is the argument used by despots and terrorists for a very long time. the last time i was on the show were talking about an ally in afghanistan who i have documented a campaign of torture

and extradition torture. >> an afghan warlord. >> an afghan warlord and kandahar. who is still there and still receiving u.s. funding and still bleeding and police force that we quit. that sort of language, more justification of this kind of behavior i think is linked to some of -- just like the shady moralities we have had to engage in. >> thank you, matthieu aikins, for being with us. we will have a link to all of your pieces and democracynow.org matthieu aikins is based in kabul and his most recent piece just came out, "the doctor, the cia, and the blood of bin laden." back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> "hamdulillah." his youtube posting about this on the road to say "hamdulillah"

is to be grateful for what one has. the images of the past decades have cast a veil on our identity as a people. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> a new report says walter israeli attacks launched by journalists and media facilities during the bombardment of gaza last month violated the laws of war by targeting civilians and civilian objects. human-rights watch issued the findings thursday on the attacks that killed two palestinian camera people, wounded at least 10 media workers and damaged four neofascist. one strike killed 82-year old boy who lived across from the targeted building. that report comes as the ruling parties in south africa has voted to support the palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against israel known

as bds. and thursday, the african after congress declared it was "unapologetic in its to the palestinians are the victims and the oppressed in the conflict with israel." several high-level south african church leaders recently visited palestine and said there were shocked at what they saw. in august, south africa's deputy foreign minister issued an advisory not to travel to israel "because of the treatment and policies of israel for the palestinian people." >> south africans are no stranger to the complex issues facing israelis and palestinians. an award winning documentary examines the apartheid analogy commonly used to describe the israeli-palestinian conflict. the film is directed by alice walker. this is an excerpt from the trailer for "road map to apartheid." >> this is the beautiful land of israel and palestine. the world's three most prominent

religions consider it holy land. each year, millions of people from around the world come here to pray for peace and prosperity. yet this land is also a major center of conflict in the world today. the jewish israelis conflict centers on protecting the homeland critic for the jewish people in 1948. for palestinians, it is about resisting decades of colonialism, expulsion,

occupation, and apartheid. most people identify a part of the grotesque system of control existed in south africa from 1948 to 1994, in which the white minority rule over the black majority. still their land and deprived them of basic rights. it was a system reviled by the whole world and eventually crumbled under the combined pressure of internal resistance to an international sanctions. today, the word is back and with it is a growing global movement to end the israeli form of apartheid. >> that is a clip from the trawler "a road map to

apartheid." the new film that is archival footage with south africans, alongside similar material that shows what life is like for palestinians in the west bank, gaza strip, and inside israel. "road map to apartheid" has just been released to the public after year long film festival run, where it won numerous awards. we're pleased to be joined by its code directors, ana nogueira and eron davidson. eron davidson is born in israel, living in the u.s.. ana nogueira was born in south africa, a founding member of the new york city independent media center and its newspaper. we welcome you both to "democracy now!" ana nogueira, let's begin why you tack on this film. >> it is good to be back in the studio. i was born in south africa and i came to this country at the age of 11, the oldest of seven children, and learned about what apartheid was light through them and to research and looking

into it. when i started "democracy now!"! >> in 2001, the second intifada had just begun. i was learning about a two-hour daily coverage. that is where i began to pick up on the similarities with the apartheid analogy and experience in south africa. i thought it was important to relieve flesh that out. . eron we decided to present this together. >> it is a very controversial analogy, and you come from south africa, apartheid, well known in this country. >> i was born in israel. yes, that analogy is very controversial. getting more comments in the last eight or so years, the analogy is used some not rhetorically. that is why we wanted to make this film, to break down that analogy of where it fits and where it does not. >> i want to go to a clip from

your film which we first hear from the south african journalist and a veteran of apartheid era-journalism. >> in the south african context, the attempt of the government was to de-citizen as more than 80% of the south africans, and give them some sort of new entity. so south africans could say, you have no claims over us. social benefits, etc., is what should be looking for their. >> the godfather of the system. >> you can only achieve peace by separating the nations. >> he spelled out the situation. like people should be given their own country. they embarked on his remarkable experience of trying to cut up the country.

these were created, at least on paper, 10 of them, and the move began to advance them toward independence. >> my government would like to continue as we are, an independent country, preferably with extended borders and cordial relations with our neighbors, and a possible, internationally. >> most were stooges. >> to give some of the near of reality to the fantasy, the government threw money at them. they bought elaborate parliaments, housing for ministers, could airports, sports stadiums. it was to create separate states. it was not so much a to-state solution, but a multi-state

solution. when a look at israel and travel to the west bank, i was looking [indiscernible] totally unviable, and possible states. in many respects, it struck me as being significantly worse than apartheid. >> leaders actually had more power and control than the palestinian authorities had. what also did was create an authority which allowed israel to still control the occupied palestinian territory, but do so through a palestinian authority. ostensibly, the authority controlling the power of the occupied territory -- in fact, israel controlled borders and taxes and israel controls all kinds of things, in an access in and out of the area-- access in

and out of the area. >> to me, the big analogy was that south africa, in taking these two choices we have two or more nationalists laying claim to the same country, you either are going to find a way to live together or have a fair partition. the big similarity between apartheid south africa and the israeli-palestinian situation is both decided to have a partition solution but in both cases, it was grossly unfair. >> that was allistar sparks and n'am jeenah. the parallel in terms of what is going on in the palestinian territories today? >> i think that is one of the most important similarities to look at. alternately, it shows where we're going, where we're headed with this. as a clip showed, south africa

try to set up a multistate solution, put them into these ghettos, and it failed. the whole world sought for what it was and refuse to recognize that israel is one of the countries that actually did recognize it in an attempt to legitimize this strategy. ariel sharon basically -- the police said the situation was the solution for israel and palestine. we have seen the attempt to create a two-day solution has failed and israel has done everything in its power to thwart that, even the most recent u.n. recognition of palestine as a nonmember state, as soon as that referendum was held to the world and never once supported it, israel immediately showed who was boss by announcing the building of 3000 settlements, withholding tax revenue for the palestinian authority, which cripples their economy.

the two-state solution is a farce. >> let's go to a clip from a "road map to apartheid." alice walker explains part of the history of africana movement. >> a deeply religious people, the white africanas of south africa believe they have a god given rights to land they consider mostly uninhabited. and what is known as the great track, what africanas consider their equivalent of the exodus, thousands trapped into the wilderness in search of the promised land. they pushed into land the africans consider theirs and many battles ensued. armed with guns, and protected by a circle of covered wagons, known as a lighter, they easily beat back the indigenous masses that outnumbered them. this image of the heroic settlers defending of the savages became history.

morphing into the philosophy of apartheid in 1948. under apartheid law, the one standard under which everything was judged was the security of state, and the statement the afrikana people. the freedoms of the majority were whittled away in order to protect the privileges of all white minority. today, there's a monument to the great trek. a shrine to the history and philosophy. , aoncrete lauger completely surrounding the monument. a physical representation of a state of mind that sees enemies everywhere, and will do anything to protect against them. >> that is a clip from "road map

to apartheid," narrated by alice walker. i want to turn to another one, how you explore how israel was one of the closest allies and biggest arms suppliers to the former apartheid regime. >> the south african defense forces, as they were called, there army and navy was almost totally outfitted by israel. because south africa cannot get weapons from other countries, israel was one of the only countries willing to break the arms embargo. >> the alliance started in earnest in 1973. by 1979, about 35% of [indiscernible] they became a crucial client and crucial source for export revenue that israel cannot give up easily. it involved everything from tanks to ammunition.

after 1977, there's a mandatory arms embargo. israel violated the u.n. arms embargo openly and many israeli officials are happy to admit that. if you talk to south african defense officials, especially the air force, they tell you israel was an absolute vital link and lifeline for them during the 1980's. after 1977, the ideological component becomes much stronger. the top brass of the two militaries felt there were in a similar predicament and faced a common enemy. they also had a very similar conception of minority survival. there was a fence that nationalists were similar to israelis. beleaguered minorities surrounded by a hostile majority. >> that is a clip from "road map to apartheid."

eron davidson, you were born in israel. this is obviously an extremely sensitive comparison that many object to. >> it is true. it is. it is gaining more ground and becoming more common discourse, though. as you saw in the clip, the government ties through the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's were extremely deep. the armed each other with nuclear weapons. these were the government did something called sanction busting where south africa cannot export products, manufacture them and sent them out to the rest of the world, labeling "made in israel." >> an obviously now, the whole divestment movement is again another parallel in terms of what happened, in terms of

resistance were worldwide resistance to the continuation of the oppression of the palestinians as a was in south africa. >> there was a very fast-growing global movement that is modeling's up on the anti- apartheid movement of the 1980's, and taking its cues from their, recognizing apartheid ended as a result of internal resistance as well, so there needs to be a palestinian resistance as well. but it was supported by this global movement they used to boycott, divestment and sanctions to get the government to change its ways the announcement that it is one to abide by the bds is very heartwarming, and probably going to have a domino effect in terms of more states getting on to this. >> i want to go to the last clip from the film. this is the south african council of churches. later in the clip, we hear from a palestinian journalist and south african reporter.

>> i have been able to visit israel and palestine on more than two occasions. and what i experienced there was such a cruel reminder of a painful past and apartheid south africa. >> we were largely controlled in the same way. the continuous checking at the roadblocks and to see this -- these young men and young women standing at the roadblock, having to perform duties of a military junta. these parallels with israel

[indiscernible] while alice traveling in the country. i was traveling in the country. >> the settlements are linked by modern superhighways, which are jewish-only roads. palestinians are not allowed to use them. and these super highways crisscross across palestinian land, linking the settlements together and linking them with israeli cities inside the 1948 borders >> the separate roads you find the sediment infrastructure that you find in the west bank, for example, which in south africa we did not truman would have roads that would only be for whites. >> in 2008, there were 800 kilometers of jewish-only roads in the west bank, or as the

israeli military prefers to call them, sterile roads. settlers are issued yellow license plates so the military can distinguish them from palestinian drivers. >> a clip of "road map to apartheid." ana nogueira, the film is out on dvd? >> yes, you can find it on our website or journeymen pictures website. >> ana nogueira and eron davidson, thank you for being with us for it in our last segment, we turn to reverend billy. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> traditional music. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> today is friday, 12-21-12:

doomsday, the end of the world. that is according to some interpretations of the mind calendar. others say it is the beginning of a new year. one does not need to look at the mine calendar or though worlds of -- words of the astrodome is, the prophetic dreams of daniel or the revelation made to john to see this world is in dire straits. this guy may not be falling in, but it sure felt like it to the victims of hurricane sandy, along with, change, gun violence, drones, and other henchmen on the horizon. >> the word apocalypse originated from the greek term that means literally uncovering in a sense of revealing something previously hidden. someone known for pulling the covers off is reverend billy. he is holding his end of the world ritual in times square in new york city today.

he is urging people to turn away from the corporate commodities and fossil fuels. he is joining us for a final prayer before the holidays. welcome, reverend billy. >> thank you for having us. show's "democracy now!" from spencer cox's talk about how to live our lives when we know the end by being near to the presence, the poisonous presence, of the distortion of religion in south africa and palestine and israel, there is a through line today we need to choose the one apocalypse, the one you mentioned, the mayan calendar, the regeneration says it is time to go from a human being based life into the earth life.

let go of the book of revelation and all the violence of batman, spider-man, and all the american versions of the book of revelations, especially the american foreign policy and military presence around the world is very much a right out of the last book of the bible. >> what you're doing today in the last 30 seconds we have? >> i'm just inviting all of us to be creative, to give meaning to our lives right now. the tabloids and the comic books, they're trying to really get us to a certain series of actions. let's find our own creativity. the end will come for all of us. i don't think is going to come today. if we are really creative and give life and give radical regeneration to the next hours that we have, then the earth will rise up with us. amen.

>> reverend billy [captioning made possible by democracy now!]